SOLDIER 



mm 



/IONEER. 



LIBRARY ™ CONGRESS. 



Shelf.: 



TES OF AMERICA. 



:l4M -. ' I 




SOLDIER AND PIONEER: 



A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 



Lt.-CoL Richard C. Anderson 



CONTINENTAL ARMY. 



By E. IA ANDERSON. 






NEW YORK: 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

182 Fifth Avenue, 

1879. 






COPYRIGHT. 

E. L. ANDERSON, 
1878. 



HUT SINCE IT PLEASKD A VANISH I) EYE, 
I GO TO PLANT IT OX HIS TOMB, 
THAT IF IT CAN IT THERE MAY BLOOM, 

OB DYING, THERE AT LEAST MAY DIE." 

IN MEMORIAM. 



Contents. 



Old Virginia, 7 

Captain" of thk Fifth Virginia, 14 

The Battle of Trenton, ... - 18 

The Fortunes of War, 24 

Mad Anthony Wayne, - 29 

At Yorktown 38 

The Frontier in 1783, .... 42 

The Chenoweth Massacre, - - - - 48 

Time Flies, 53 

Friends Meet, 56 

Adieu, 61 



Old Virginia. 

T!N" the latter part of the seventeenth 
century Kobert Anderson came to 
America from Scotland and purchased 
an estate, called Goldmines, from the 
fact that some earlier colonist had there 
made search for the precious metal, in 
what is now Hanover county, Virginia. 

His son Robert, born January 1, 1712, 
succeeded him in the possession of the 
property, and was known, and is now 
remembered, as "Anderson of Gold- 
mines." 

My grandfather, Richard Clough An- 
derson, of whose life I propose to give 

(?) 



8 Old Virginia. 

some account, was the fifth child of this 
second Robert and Elizabeth, daughter 
of Richard Clough, a colonist from 
Wales. 

The house built by the first Robert, 
with massive timbers and great outside 
chimneys, still stands, marking the birth- 
place of two generations of his descend- 
ants. Rocky Mills, formerly the home 
of Colonel John Syme, lies upon the one 
hand, and upon the other is the once 
magnificent plantation of the Dabneys. 

From one who, for more than half a 
century, has been the owner of Gold- 
mines, I have learned some of the tra- 
ditions that are still current concerning 
the second Robert. lie was, it seems, a 
mighty hunter, and delighted in the 
company of his neighbor, John Findley, 
when following the chase. If, upon ris- 
ing in the morning, the day proved fa- 
vorable to sport, he would stand at his 



Old Virginia. 9 

door, and, by his unaided voice, summon 
Findley from his house, which lay a full 
mile off as the crow flies. According to 
another story, he directed, upon the 
death of his wife, in November, 1779, 
that two coffins should be brought from 
Richmond, for he desired to save his sur- 
viving friends the tedious journey over 
miserable roads, when, in the course of 
events, a period of seventeen years, as it 
happened, he should require one. I re- 
collect hearing that Colonel Richard An- 
derson told how he came unexpectedly 
upon this memento mori when he returned 
from the wars, and found it in use as a 
fruit-bin. 

My grandfather was born upon the 
twelfth day of January, 1750. He inher- 
ited from his father a love for field sports 
that characterized him throughout his life. 
Schools were not always at hand in early 
Virginia, and the education of the chil- 



10 Old Virginia. 

dren, with many other domestic duties that 
are unknown in our economy, fell to the 
part of the women of the household. But 
it was not often that young Richard could 
be brought to his books. While his sis- 
ters were caring for the poultry or weav- 
ing the threads gathered from the silk- 
worms (one of them presented General 
Washington with a suit of silk made on 
the home loom), he was getting an exact 
knowledge of the country for many miles 
around, and acquiring a physical endur- 
ance almost equal to that of the wild ani- 
mals he followed. 

At the time of my grandfather's birth, 
the white population of the colony did 
not exceed one hundred thousand souls. 
But little was known of the region that 
lay beyond the Blue Ridge mountains, 
and what we now reverently style " Old 
Virginia," was a sparsely-settled district 
abounding in all kinds of game, and not 




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Old Virginia. 11 

yet free from the dangers of Indian fo- 
rays. The negro slaves, amounting in 
number to the white colonists, cultivated 
tobacco under the direction of overseers, 
while the planters employed their time 
in attending horse races and cock fights, 
or in the more healthy excitement of the 
chase. 

Eichard Anderson was not destined to 
be a mere hunter, for Patrick Coots, 
who, in wealth and ability, stood at the 
head of the merchants of Virginia, 
formed so favorable an opinion of him 
that he offered to put him in the way of 
making his fortune. Anderson of Gold- 
mines did not have the grace to conceal 
that it was the contempt he felt for trade 
that induced him to oppose this favora- 
ble offer ; but, in the face of his father's 
protest, and against the wishes of all the 
family, Eichard, at the age of sixteen, 
entered the family of the merchant. 



12 Old Virginia. 

Robert Anderson never fully forgave his 
son for this disobedience, and my grand- 
father always felt his unjust displeasure. 

While Robert Anderson and his neigh- 
bors were chasing the fox, and while their 
daughters, in their frequent interchange 
of visits, were discussing the latest scan- 
dals and fashions from London, for now 
three hundred ships were employed in 
carrying out tobacco and introducing 
foreign follies, young Richard was mak- 
ing voyages as supercargo for the rich 
merchant, during one of which he saw 
the tea thrown over into Boston Harbor, 
an act that did not, perhaps, make any 
great impression on his mind at the time, 
but which often recurred to him in after 
life. 

That Richard Anderson retained the 
good will of Mr. Coots can not be 
doubted, for when the colonies rose in 
arms against the mother country, and 



Old Virginia. 13 

Richard joined with the rebels, the loyal- 
ist merchant could not bear malice against 
his young friend, and, on his death-bed, 
bequeathed him a legacy in proof of his 
continued affection. 



Captain in the Fifth Virginia. 

TDATRICK HENRY, who was a fa- 
miliar visitor at the house of Coots, 
pressed Richard Anderson to accept the 
position of paymaster-general to the 
forces that Virginia had offered for the 
defense of the Colonies. But, upon An- 
derson expressing a preference for the 
active service of the line, he was, upon 
the twenty-sixth day of January, 1776, 
appointed captain of the company of reg- 
ulars from Hanover county, and upon the 
seventh of March following, he received 
his commission to that grade in the Fifth 
Virginia Continentals, of which Peachey 
(14) 



Captain in the Fifth Virginia. 15 

was the colonel, and William Crawford, 
who perished so miserably by torture in 
the Indian wars, was the lieutenant- 
colonel. 

My grandfather, at his entrance upon 
military life, was twenty-six years of age, 
with mind and body well adapted to the 
dangers and hardships of a soldier's du- 
ties. He was below the medium height, 
but had broad shoulders and heavily 
muscled limbs, and, among a race of 
hardy pioneers, was remarkable for his 
strength and activity. His face had a 
lively, and, notwithstanding a nose of 
disproportionate size, an agreeable ex- 
pression. He was of cheerful disposi- 
tion, and exhibited his pleasure by the 
sparkling of a pair of blue eyes, for he 
seldom or never laughed. He was fond 
of society, and talked well, a certain grim 
humor giving tone to his conversation. 
I have been told by those who knew him 



16 Captain in the Fifth Virginia. 

that lie was inferior to no man in cool 
courage, and that he was often selected 
by his commanding officers for the per- 
formance of duties where his judgment 
and discretion should supply the place of 
explicit orders. Hugh Pleasants, writing 
in the Richmond Despatch, January 21, 
1861, says of him : " There was no braver 
officer in the American army." 

An anecdote that was told of him il- 
lustrates very well some of his peculiari- 
ties. It seems that Captain Anderson, 
while standing upon a narrow bridge, 
overheard some } r oung ladies who were 
about to pass, commenting upon the size 
of his nose. "With perfect composure, he 
raised his hat from his head with one 
hand, and, with the other, turned aside 
the offending member as though it had 
been a projecting bough, and desired 
them to pass. A gentleman of the party, 
who laughed at the absurdity of tho 



Captain in the Fifth Virginia. 17 

scene, appeased the captain's wrath by an 
apology. 

Colonel Peachey resigned his commis- 
sion before the regiment took the field, 
and the Fifth Virginia joined "Washing- 
ton, then about to undertake the move- 
ments that culminated in the battle of 
White Plains, under the command of 
Colonel Scott, one of the best officers in 
the Continental army. 

The part that Captain Anderson took 
in the battle of Trenton, in which his 
regiment was next engaged, merits a par- 
ticular description, as the relation of it 
will bring to light certain facts, historic- 
ally important, that have never been 
properly represented. 



The Battle of Trenton. 

TTPOX the twenty-fourth day of De- 
cember, 1776, the troops then being 
encamped near Trenton Falls, Captain 
Anderson was directed by General Ste- 
phen, who had been colonel of the 
Fourth Virginia Infantry, to cross the 
Delaware in boats with his company, 
and, after making a reconnoissance in cer- 
tain directions to return by the way of 
Trenton, where he should feel for the 
pickets of the enemy, but avoid engaging 
a superior force. 

At eight o'clock the next evening, 
Captain Anderson, having so far accom- 
(18) 



The Battle of Trenton. 19 

plished his purpose, approached the Hes- 
sian outpost at Trenton. A wintry storm 
was raging-, and the sentinel walked 
his beat with his head turned from the 
biting hail, unconscious of the approach 
of the hostile party with their snow muf- 
fled feet. The rifle shot that carried 
his death roused the relief, who rushed 
from the guard-house to be driven back 
into the camp. The alarm was soon car- 
ried into Trenton, and the troops made 
ready for defense. 

Captain Anderson, in pursuance of his 
orders, immediately withdrew his force, 
avoiding the Hessian horse that made a 
weak pursuit, by taking a route across the 
fenced fields, and he recrossed the river 
in safety. On his march toward camp 
he met Washington's column marching 
in force to attack the enemy at Trenton. 
My grandfather was first addressed by 
Colonel Butler, then on the staff of the 



20 The Battle of Trenton. 

commanding general, who expressed great 
surprise that any one had dared to put 
the enemy upon its guard, and, as an old 
friend of the captain's hoped that he had 
full warrant for his action. General 
Washington then rode up, and was 
greatly enraged upon learning where 
Captain Anderson had been. He forth- 
with sent for General Stephen, and de- 
manded to know why his orders had 
been disregarded, remarking : " You, sir, 
may have ruined all my plans." General 
Stephen assumed all responsibility and 
stated that he had sent out the party to 
obtain knowledge of the movements of 
the enemy. General Washington dis- 
missed Stephen to his station without 
further words, and, in a calm and consid- 
erate manner, directed Captain Anderson 
to march his men in the vanguard, where 
they would not be so greatly harrassed by 



The Battle of Trenton. 21 

fatigue as they would be in their own 
place in the column. 

This blunder of General Stephen's 
brought success to the American army. 
For Colonel Rahl, who had been warned 
of the projected movement, relaxed his 
vigilance when he learned that his dra- 
goons had driven off the attacking party, 
and the soldiery gave themselves up to 
the festivities of the season. At eight 
o'clock of the next morning, twelve 
hours after the attack upon the picket 
guard, Washington won an easy victory 
from a surprised enemy. 

Captain Anderson, in this second ad- 
vance, received a wound in the hip from 
a yager ball, and was conveyed to Phila- 
delphia upon a gun carriage. While ly- 
ing in hospital in that city he was the 
victim of a severe case of small pox, the 
effect of which was not to improve his 
personal appearance. 



22 The Battle of Trenton. 

The English writer, Gordon, who ob- 
tained his information relating to the 
first march upon Trenton from the Hes- 
sian lieutenant who commanded the 
picket guard, confuses my grandfather 
with Captain Washington, who was very 
active in the general engagement, and 
some other historians have followed him 
in the mistake. But that Captain "Wash- 
ington had no part in the reconnoissance 
we may he certain, for, in letters written 
from Trenton, upon the twenty-sixth of 
December, by General Washington and 
two others, no mention is made of this 
important affair, although his actual ser- 
vices are spoken of in detail. There are 
hundreds now alive who have heard my 
grandfather's comrades, around the hos- 
pitable table of Soldier's Eetreat, speak 
of the part he took on that memorable 
Christmas night, and there arc still some 
living who heard this matter discussed, 



The Battle of Trenton. 23 

when, in the autumn of 1817, James 
Monroe, president elect, visiting my 
grandfather at his home in Kentucky, 
met Andrew Jackson, Simon Kenton, and 
other men of mark. The information 
upon which this chapter is founded was 
was received from one who was present 
on that occasion. The Honorable Alfred 
Yaple, one of the Judges of the Superior 
Court of Cincinnati, a man learned in 
American history, informs me that he 
heard of Captain Anderson's skirmish 
with the Hessians from those who had 
it from General Arthur St. Clair, and 
that General St. Clair often said that 
my grandfather's conduct on that occa- 
sion gained for him "Washington's friend- 
ship. 



The Fortunes of War. 

QAPTAIff ANTDERSOtf served with 
the Fifth Virginia Regiment in the 
battles of Brandywine and Germantown. 
On the 10th day of February, 1778, he 
was promoted to be major in the First 
Virginia. With his new regiment my 
grandfather took part in the battle of 
Monmouth, in June of the last-mentioned 
year. 

When, in the autumn of 1779, the Count 
D'Estaing undertook, with the aid of 
Lincoln's troops from Charleston, the 
reduction of Savannah, Major Anderson 
accompanied the expedition. As the 
(24) 



The Fortunes of War. 25 

French commander was pressed for time, 
it was determined that the siege should 
he abandoned, and that an attempt should 
be made to take the place by assault. 
The attacking troops were ordered to 
advance with unloaded muskets. A 
British soldier, who, with fancied im- 
punity, was picking off the officers of 
the Americans, was killed by my grand- 
father's black servant, Spruce, who did 
not consider that it was demanded of him 
to charge the enemy with an empty gun. 
Major Anderson and some others had 
gained the parapet of the Spring Hill 
redoubt, when a Captain Tawes, with 
whom, when Tawes was a prisoner, my 
grandfather had lived on terms of inti- 
macy, thrust his sword through Ander- 
son's shoulder, and knocked him into 
the ditch ; the fall giving him a hurt 
from which he never wholly recovered. 



26 The Fortunes of War. 

At the same moment, the British officer 
received his death wound. 

The attack, though at several points 
successful, was, in the end, repulsed. 
Upon his way hack to camp, my grand- 
father met Pulaski. The unhappy Pole 
was mounted upon a rough-moving pony, 
at whose every step the hlood from a 
mortal wound churned up in the long 
boots of the rider. Until death released 
Pulaski from his sufferings, at some hour 
during that night, Major Anderson re- 
mained with him. He received from the 
dying man a sword, in memory of the 
sad service. 

The continental forces were recalled to 
Charleston, where Major Anderson re- 
joined the Virginia line that had been 
sent down for the defense of that threat- 
ened point. 

Here, nearly eighty years later, his son 
Robert, holding the like rank, was forced 



The Fortunes of War. 27 

to yield up Fort Sumter to his fellow- 
citizens arrayed against his government. 

Charleston was surrendered, when, by 
the regular approaches of a siege, the 
garrison was put at the mercy of the 
enemy; and Major Anderson remained 
a prisoner in the hands of the enemy for 
about nine months, suffering much hard- 
ship, often keeping off starvation with a 
few fish caught in the river bordering 
the camp; and the privilege of fishing 
was finally denied him. 

Upon his release he joined General 
Morgan, who was about to withdraw 
before Lord Cornwallis. Major Ander- 
son was so impressed with the military 
skill displayed in Morgan's movements 
on this retreat, that afterwards, when 
he had charge of Lafayette's rear-guard, 
he used the same tactics, and with like 
success, before the same enemy. 

It was the custom of General Morgan, 



28 The Fortunes of War. 

after making the day's march, to go into 
biviouac and build the usual fires. Then, 
when his troops had taken supper, he 
would withdraw them four or five miles, 
and let them rest until morning. In this 
way he avoided surprises, though followed 
by one of the most wily and dashing 
officers of the British service. 

When Major Anderson reached Rich- 
mond he found an order from General 
Washington directing him to report him- 
self to General Lafayette, who had been 
placed in command of the Continental 
troops in Virginia, as it was supposed 
that my grandfather's accurate know- 
ledge of the country might prove of great 
assistance to the Marquis in determining 
his movements. 



Mad Anthony Wayne. 



gima was 



TN the spring of 1781 Vii 

threatened hy a hostile force of 
twenty-five hundred men, under the 
traitor Arnold, who was, however, su- 
perseded in the command by General 
Phillips before active operations were 
begun. 

To the Marquis de Lafayette, with a 
few disheartened troops, was confided 
the defense of the colony. General Wayne 
had been directed by the commander-in- 
chief to march some detachments of Con- 
tinental troops, that were at York in 
Pennsylvania, to the army of General 

(29) 



30 Mad Anthony Wayne. 

Greene in the Carolinas, and he had been 
further instructed to lend aid, while on 
his route, to Lafayette, provided the 
Marquis should demand it. 

Lafayette was compelled to retreat 
from Richmond, closely pursued by the 
British forces, now increased to the 
number of seven thousand men by 
the troops of Cornwallis, and under the 
command of that active leader. The 
object of Lafayette's movement was to 
protect the stores that had been carried 
to Albemarle Court House and other 
points of present safety; while Corn- 
wallis not only hoped to destroy these 
supplies that were of almost vital im- 
portance to the struggling colonies, but 
also believed that he might gain the 
whole of Virginia to the British arms. 

Upon learning the nature of the orders 
given to General Wayne, the Marquis 
requested his immediate aid, and in- 



Mad Anthony Wayne. 31 

dicated to him the route his army would 
follow in its retreat and the point 
where the Pennsylvania troops should 
join it. Withdrawing now to this place 
of meeting, the Marquis exhibited to the 
enemy every proof of disorder and weak- 
ness. Cornwallis was confident that he 
had him in his grasp. " The boy can 
not escape me," wrote the Earl, joyfully 
anticipating the glory of depriving the 
rebels of one of their wisest advisers and 
ablest leaders. 

This " boyhood " of Lafayette's was a 
matter of ridicule with the enemy and 
of indignant jealousy to the Continentals. 
Among these malcontents General Wayne 
was prominent, as well on account of his 
rank and reputation in the army as because 
his ardent temper made him most violent 
in the expression of his dissatisfaction. 

The time fixed upon for the arrival of 
the Pennsylvania troops had passed by, 



32 Mad Anthony Wayne. 

and yet nothing was heard from Wayne. 
The delay of this officer, deferring the 
forward movement, filled Lafayette's 
mind with anxiety for the safety of Steu- 
ben's detached force, and of the stores at 
Albemarle. The Marquis, therefore, sent 
Major Anderson to urge Wayne to 
march with all haste, as the occasion 
was a pressing one. 

Major Anderson fonnd General Wayne 
in camp at a place called "The Red 
House," and received from him an un- 
gracious promise to move up. After the 
expiration of three days, the Marquis, 
having learned that Wayne was not ad- 
vancing, again sent Major Anderson 
with a peremptory order to join him by 
forced marches, and Major Anderson 
was instructed to remain with Wayne, 
sending forward hourly dispatches to his 
chief, until the troops should arrive at 
the camp. 



Mad Anthony Wayne. 33 

When Major Anderson reached Wayne 
on his second mission, he found that the 
General had moved but four miles from 
his former headquarters. Upon entering 
the room that served as the Adjutant's 
office, my grandfather saluted the Gen- 
eral and his staff officers in a friendly 
and natural manner, and asking for pen, 
ink, and paper, sat down as if to write. 
Looking up to Wayne, whose curiosity 
had been aroused by this proceeding, he 
told the General that he had been sent 
by the Marquis de Lafayette to repeat 
the order for his advance, and that as he 
was about to forward the first of the 
hourly dispatches required of him, he 
desired to know what should be the 
nature of the report. 

Wayne was at first amazed at the au- 
dacious intrusion, and staring at Major 
Anderson, asked, in a low tone, "Do 
you mean to insult me?" My grand- 



34 Mad Anthony Wayne. 

father denied having any such intention, 
but said that in the course of duty he car- 
ried the commands of a superior officer. 
Wayne's voice, which had been husky 
and choked with passion, now broke 
forth like the thunder that has given a 
low and threatening prelude: "Superior! 
Superior ! Do you dare call any damned 
foreigner, and a hoy, too, my superior?" 
He then poured forth a torrent of oaths 
and imprecations upon all foreigners, not 
sparing my grandfather for having as- 
sociated himself with "the fortune- 
seeking Frenchman." He became more 
vehement as he lashed himself into a 
fury, and finally, in the rapidity of his 
utterance, he fell into incoherent raving. 
Nor did he cease from striding up and 
down the room, stamping his foot in a 
paroxysm of rage at each turning. It 
was the indulgence in these furious out- 



Mad Anthony Wayne. 35 

bursts of temper, and not his well-known 
rashness in battle, that gave him the 
nickname of Mad Anthony. At length, 
fatigued by his violent action and the 
force of his passion, "Wayne gradually 
subsided into human nature and even 
into gentleness of manner. But any 
reference to the object of Major Ander- 
son's visit led to just such a scene as I 
have described. Four times did he give 
way to these frenzies, when, having re- 
lapsed into a reasonable state of mind, 
he joined the conversation, which one of 
his officers had turned into a channel 
that might divert his mind from the 
dangerous topic. Wayne having ex- 
pressed himself hopeful of a certain, but 
perhaps distant, success for the American 
arms, Major Anderson confessed that 
his mind was filled with gloomy fore- 
bodings. He was, as he secretly hoped 



36 Mad Anthony Wayne. 

to be, pressed for his reasons. He 
saw that the critical moment had ar- 
rived, and with more words than were 
customary with him he told the Gen- 
eral that as the only hope of success 
against a formidable foe lay in voluntary 
union and subordination, the example he 
had witnessed that day of an officer 
high in rank and of distinguished ser- 
vices, refusing to obey the orders of a 
superior, deprived him of the hope of a 
useful or permanent success. " General 
Wayne," said he, "I look to you to re- 
move these apprehensions." 

This condemnation of "Wayne's course 
seemed about to rouse his anger; but he 
was, though jealous and excitable, a true 
patriot and a real soldier, and with 
almost that heat with which he had 
lately refused to obey he cried out, " Tell 
him I'll jine him! Tell him I'll jine 



Mad Anthony Wayne. 37 

him ! By God ! tell him I J ll jine him 
to-morrow ! " 

[This incident was described by J. D. S., a 
writer unknown to the author, in the Richmond 
Whig, and his article was republished in the 
Spirit of the Times, of October 22, 1843.] 



sli Yorklown. 

pEXERAL WAYNE brought only 
eight hundred muskets to Lafayette, 
but as there was need of prompt action, 
the Marquis boldly took the offensive. 
The faint-hearted Continentals caught the 
ardor of their young and gallant leader, 
and became eager to seek the glories that 
were to be won from a foe superior in 
numbers. 

On several occasions Lafayette offered 
battle to the enemy, first taking care 
that he could retreat in case of need; 
but Lord Cornwallis refused his challenge 
in each case. Once, on the 5th of July, 
(38) 



At Yorldown. 39 

Wayne rashly forced the enemy to turn, 
and had not Lafayette been at hand, the 
Pennsylvania regiments would have been 
annihilated ; for the British troops were 
in strong force. Cornwallis was retiring 
to some point on the coast, in obedience 
to the orders of Sir Henry Clinton, in 
order that his army might be available 
for the defense of New York, should it 
be required. This attempt to maintain 
both "New York and Virginia w T as made 
against the better judgment of Corn- 
wallis, and he had the mortification of 
retiring with a larger force before the 
advance of his despised opponent. "When 
the Earl had marched his men into the 
peninsula, Lafayette saw that the enemy 
was entrapped, and joyously wrote to 
Washington, " It is the most beautiful 
sight which I may ever behold." 

Every effort was now made to insure 
the capture of the embarrassed and en- 



40 At Yorktown. 

tangled army. The French fleet took 
possession of the bay, and all of the un- 
employed Continental troops were hur- 
ried upon the scene. General Nelson 
had been made governor of Virginia, in 
view of such an occurrence, and the 
militia promptly answered his call. 

My grandfather had now been in the 
military family of the Marquis de La- 
fayette for more than six months, and 
had gained by his services and character 
the confidence and friendship of his chief, 
having on his part the greatest respect 
and affection for the noble foreigner. It 
was, therefore, a matter of sincere regret 
to both that my grandfather was ordered, 
about the first of September, to report to 
Governor Nelson to assist him in or- 
ganizing the militia. Upon the 19th 
day of September, the third parallel of 
approach having been opened, and all 
hope of succor from Clinton having 



At Yorktown. 41 

been given up, Lord Cornwallis surren- 
dered the place and the troops to the 
allied armies. 

During the whole of this campaign, 
my grandfather's duties were of the 
most arduous and responsible nature, 
and so well were they performed that he 
was rewarded by promotion to the grade 
of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Continental 
army, and he was at the same time ap- 
pointed a Brigadier- General of Virginia 
militia. 

In April of the year 1783, the army 
was disbanded, and Colonel Anderson 
was with one voice chosen by his brother 
officers surveyor-general of the lands 
reserved to pay the Virginia Continental 
line, and the selection was approved by 
the State legislature. 



The Frontier in 1783. 

SPHERE were two districts reserved for 
the troops of tlie Continental line. 
One was a large tract of land in Ken- 
tucky, lying between the Green and 
Cumberland rivers. The other was the 
region lying between the Little Miami 
and Scioto rivers, going back to the 
headwaters of those streams in the Ohio 
country. Hostile Indians inhabited this 
latter district, and their frequent incur- 
sions after game rendered Kentucky a 
dangerous home for the pioneers. 

My grandfather selected Louisville as 
the most convenient place in which to cs- 
(42) 



The Frontier in 1783. 43 

tablish himself, as it was midway between 
his districts. At the time he reached the 
frontier, in the spring of the year 1783, 
Louisville was nothing more than a few 
log houses scattered around the palisade 
work known as Fort ISTelson, and in the 
territory that is now known as the State 
of Ohio there was not one permanent 
settlement. 

In Kentucky, then a county of Virginia, 
the pioneers gathered for safety at the 
stations, going out to work the fields 
during the day, but coming in like sheep 
to the fold at nightfall. 

These stations were simply huts con- 
nected by curtains of palisades, and some- 
times huts only, pierced for musketry 
and placed so as to protect each other. 
From these primitive forts a few brave 
men would drive off an enemy of many 
times their own number. Indeed, it was 
seldom that a station was captured by 



44 The Frontier in 1783. 

the Indians unless through surprise or 
treachery, for the knowledge that no 
mercy could be expected from the savage 
foe nerved the pioneer's arm to a deadly 
aim, and he thought not of surrender. 

As the surveyor-general my grand- 
father was compelled to remain almost 
constantly in his office, for assistants 
made the actual surveys and reported 
them to him. It is easy to imagine that 
the duties of these assistants led them 
into dangers and hardships. In small 
parties, and often singly, they would 
travel for hundreds of miles through 
Indian-haunted woods that never before 
had echoed to the step of a white man, 
dependent for their food upon the rifle 
and exposed to death in many forms. 
Of these men I mention the names of 
Generals Massie, Lytle, James Taylor, 
Duncan McArthur, and Lucas Sullivant, 
as some of the earlier appointments made 



The Frontier in 1783. 45 

by Colonel Anderson, and as those who 
have left their marks npon the times. 

This office-life was not to my grand- 
father's liking, and, whenever he could 
lay aside his pen, he would seize his gun 
and seek the woods. In these excursions 
he was often accompanied by George 
Rogers Clark, the grandest actor on the 
scene, the founder of the Commonwealth 
of Kentucky, and the leader of one of 
the boldest expeditions in the history of 
war. These two would consider them- 
selves happy when they could leave the 
safety of the fort, and without shelter, 
and exposed to many perils, wander in 
the grim forest. 

In 1787 Colonel Anderson married a 
sister of General Clark's, and the next 
year he built a log house ten miles from 
Louisville, and with his wife, a babe, and 
some negro servants, moved into the wil- 
derness. 



46 The Frontier in 1783. 

Here my grandfather could gratify his 
taste for the chase, but I doubt whether 
the most fearless would consider " Sol- 
dier's Ketreat," as he called his new 
home, a very secure refuge. His nearest 
neighbors, at Linn's Station, were five 
miles off. In another direction, and but 
a little further removed, lived Captain 
Chenoweth and his family. 

No record has been kept of the heed- 
less travelers who fell victims to the 
murderous red men of this region, but so 
wary a backwoodsman as Colonel Linn 
was killed by a wandering party of In- 
dians within half a mile of my grand- 
father's house, and the fate of the Chen- 
oweth s I will hereafter relate. 

A short time after Colonel Anderson 
had taken possession of his home, a gen- 
tleman named Sales, and his negro man 
Louis, were surprised and captured by a 
small body of Indians. This party then 



The Frontier in 1783. 47 

withdrew into the underbrush, and the 
captives were directed to keep quiet. 
Presently, one of the Indians gave a 
shrill whistle, as if to call some one. At 
the distance of a long rifle-shot Sales saw 
my grandfather so intently following his 
dog that the signal was not heard. 
Again the Indian whistled, but, fortu- 
nately Colonel Anderson disregarded it, 
and walked off into safety. It was not 
until the escape of Sales that my grand- 
father learned how narrowly he had 
avoided the snare. 



The Chenowdh Massacre. 

A LTHOUGH the Indians had way- 
laid many travelers, they had not 
yet attacked any of the stations or houses 
about Louisville, and, strange as it may 
seem to us of this day, the pioneers lived 
in fancied security. But an event of the 
year 1789 showed them the dreadful dan- 
gers with which they had been threat- 
ened. 

One night, in the year last mentioned, 
my grandfather was awakened by hear- 
ing the suspicious sound of a moccasin- 
covered foot upon the gravel-walk before 
the house. Raising his right hand, he 
(48) 



The Chenoweth Massacre. 49 

cocked the rifle that lay loaded in the 
rack above his head, and waited for the 
next move of the supposed enemy. In a 
moment there was a light tap at the door. 
As it was a common trick of the Indians 
to seek admittance into houses under 
various pleas, my grandfather demanded 
the name of his visitor. "I am John 
Snow," said a familiar voice, " the In- 
dians have attacked Chenoweth' s, and I 
alone have escaped." All that could he 
learned from the frightened man was, 
that while the family were at supper, 
Captain Chenoweth being absent, the 
savages had surrounded the house, and 
that he had escaped by breaking through 
their line. 

A visitor, Mr. William Elliott, who 
was sleeping in the room above the one 
occupied by my grandfather, was called 
down and sent to summon the men at 
Linn's Station. Colonel Anderson at 



50 The Chenoweth Massacre. 

once mounted a horse, and reached Chen- 
oweth's as the day was dawning. 

Upon the door-step was seated a little 
girl of four years quietly playing with 
her braided hair. She recognized my 
grandfather as he rode up, and with a 
calm voice, said, " We 're all dead here, 
Colonel Anderson." 

Near the wood-pile at the side of the 
house lay little Jamie, two years older 
than his sister, with a deep wound from 
a tomahawk in his forehead. To the sur- 
prise of my grandfather, he rose up and 
seemed fully conscious. Jamie recov- 
ered, and I knew him when he was a 
hale old man, seemingly none the worse 
for this hurt, though the scar showed 
that it had been a fearful one. 

Mrs. Chenoweth was missing, but three 
children and a servant were lying dead 
upon the floor of the cabin, and the In- 
dians had displaced and broken every 



The Chenoweih Massacre. 51 

piece of furniture. The little girl who 
was unhurt owed her safety to this de- 
structive spirit, for she was in bed at the 
time of the attack, and the Indians, in 
pulling out the mattresses, had thrown 
her down between the bed and the wall, 
where she lay until they left the place. 

"When other neighbors came up, the 
trail of Mrs. Chenoweth was taken, and 
she was found, lying in the woods at no 
great distance, nearly dead, her scalp 
having been taken. She was given the 
best care that those rude times afforded, 
and was soon able to tell her sad story. 

When the savages broke into the room 
she fled through the open door, closely 
pursued by one of them. At the mo- 
ment he threw his tomahawk her foot 
tripped and she fell, the weapon flying 
harmlessly over her head. She lay there 
motionless, and the Indian, thinking that 
he had killed her, took out his knife, 



52 The Chenoiveth Massacre. 

and, cutting a circle about her head, tore 
off the scalp. Such was her fear that 
she did not cry out during the agony of 
that terrible operation. "When he left 
her she was blinded with blood, and, as 
she was unable to rise, she had crawled 
to the place where she was found, in an 
effort to reach Soldier's Eetreat. 

For many years my grandfather did 
not see Mrs. Chenoweth, but when, on 
his journey to Virginia, he stopped at a 
wayside house, his first words drew out 
the exclamation: "Oh! Colonel Ander- 
son," from a blind woman sitting in the 
room he had entered. It was Mrs. Chen- 
oweth, who never forgot a sound she 
heard on that dreadful morning. 



Time Flies. 

TT^HEN", in the year 1793, General 
Wayne defeated the combined forces 
of the Indians at Fallen Timbers, a stop 
was put to the depredations of the sav- 
ages, and the journey down the Ohio be- 
ing comparatively safe, a great number 
of emigrants went to Kentucky, and the 
country about Soldier's Retreat became 
thickly settled. 

The old log-cabin in which my grand- 
father had lived for several years gave 
place to a large and substantial house of 
stone, and there Colonel Anderson prac- 
ticed a hospitality of the broadest kind. 

(53) 



54 Time Flies. 

To his tabic came all of his old army 
comrades who were passing up or down 
the river, the pioneers looking for homes, 
the wandering hunters, and even the In- 
dians, who, a few years before, had waged 
relentless war against the white men, 
some of whom, perhaps, had lain in wait 
for their host. A gentleman told me 
that he had often met Little Turtle, who 
defeated General St. Clair, a harmless 
guest at Soldier's Retreat. 

The new State flourished, and before 
the close of the century Colonel Ander- 
son built a two-masted vessel, called the 
Caroline, which he loaded with the pro- 
ducts of Kentucky and sent to London. 
Whether he gained anything by the ven- 
ture I do not know, but a French clock 
that formed part of the return cargo is 
etill keeping excellent time. 

In 1797, his first wife having died two 
vears before, Colonel Anderson married 



Time Flies. 55 

Sarah, daughter of William and Ann 
McLeod Marshall. 

With the beginning of the new century 
came a new order of things. Louisville 
was a city, and around Soldier's Retreat, 
where, a few years before, were dense 
woods and dreary canebrakes filled with 
wild beasts and savage men, were now 
smiling farms and peaceful friends. The 
people were no longer called upon to 
suffer hardships, for they were within 
the bounds of civilization, and the frontier 
had been removed further west. 

Once again, in his seventy-fifth year, 
my grandfather revisited Vi rginia. Wh at 
must have been his emotions upon re- 
turning as an old man to the scenes of 
his youth, after an unbroken absence of 
more than forty years. 



fc& rfuX'j?A,l> *^<&*'*t«4& 




'££S 



dk 




'#£\ 



Friends Meet. 

TT^HEN, after the lapse of nearly half 
a century, the Marquis de Lafay- 
ette came to see, in its strength, the na- 
tion that he had left in its infancy, he ac- 
cepted the proffered hospitalities of Ken- 
tucky. A few days before his arrival in 
the State, my grandfather received the 
following note : 

"Colonel Anderson: 

" The committee appointed by the Gov- 
ernor, on the part of the State, to super- 
intend the arrangements for the recep- 
tion, and to provide for the accommoda- 
tion of General Lafayette while on a visit 
(56) 



Friends Meet. 57 

to this State, sensible of the worth of 
your military services during our Revo- 
lutionary War, and knowing the public 
relation in which you stood to him as 
one of the aicls-de-camp of that illustrious 
man, beg leave, on behalf of the State, 
to request that you will accompany the 
General on his visit to Frankfort, and at 
the public entertainment there to be 
given him by the State. 

" Your mo. obt. servts., 

"W. T. Barry, 
" J. Bledsoe, 
" Thos. Bodley, 
"C.S.Todd." 

In accordance with the arranged order 
of affairs, the Marquis, who came up the 
river on a steamboat, was received by 
the committee on the part of the State 
at Louisville. I am under obligations to 
Mr. J. F. D. Lanier, of New York City, 
who was a witness of the scene, for the 
following description of the meeting be- 



58 Friends Meet. 

tween the Marquis de Lafayette and Col- 
onel Anderson : 

" In the year 1825, General Lafayette 
made his first visit to the United States 
since the Revolutionary "War had ended. 
I was then a citizen of the State of In- 
diana, and a resident of Madison. His 
travels throughout the length and breadth 
of the country were a grand ovation. 
He was received and welcomed every- 
where, each city and town vying with 
the other in lavishing kindness, hospi- 
tality, and greetings to the ' nation's 
guest.' 

"Among other places in the West he 
visited Louisville, Kentucky, which city 
was in the course of his journey from 
the South to visit Mr. Clay at Lexington. 
That was in the month of June of that 
year. He came up the Ohio river by 
steamboat, and landed at Shippingsport, 
a small town just below Louisville, that 
being the head of navigation of the Ohio 
river at that time. The boat that brought 



Frieyids Meet. 59 

him up was expected to arrive at a cer- 
tain hour of the day, and the whole 
country side' were assembled on the banks 
awaiting his arrival. At length the boat 
appeared, and amid the wildest excite- 
ment and cheering approached the shore, 
where a plank was thrown out for the 
passengers to land, as was the custom of 
that day. 

" Your grandfather, General Richard C. 
Anderson, who had served as one of 
General Lafayette's aids during the Inv- 
olution, together with your father, then 
a young man, were present on that occa- 
sion. 

"It has afforded me, in after times,' 
great pleasure to have been an eye-wit- 
ness of the occurrence. Although fifty 
years and more have passed, still I have 
as vivid a recollection of the affair as if 
it occurred only last week. 

"After the party had safely landed, Gen- 
eral Lafayette, who was a little lame, and 
obliged to lean on a gentleman's arm by 
his side, surrounded by old friends, was 



60 Friends Meet. 

ascending slowly the steep bank of the 
river, which was now covered with an im- 
mense multitude, when, at once recog- 
nizing your grandfather in the crowd, 
whom he had not seen for forty years, 
they rushed into each other's arms and 
kissed each other ! 

"It was indeed an affecting scene, ever 
to be remembered. It was with diffculty 
that any one present could repress their 
emotions at seeing the two friends, now 
both well advanced in years, in each 
other's embrace. 1 have a distinct recol- 
lection of the appearance of your grand- 
father on that day. His hair was white 



But after the old friends had recovered 
from the shock at seeing in each other 
how badly time had treated them, they 
broke out into hearty laughter upon the 
Marquis repeating the memorable words 
of General Wayne: " Tell him I'll jine 
him ! Tell him I'll jine him ! By God, 
tell him I'll jine him to-morrow! " 



tfdieu. 

r\N the 16th day of October, 1826, atter 
a painful illness, borne with charac- 
teristic fortitude, my grandfather gave up 
this life, which, though passed in unceas- 
ing labor, and amidst great and constant 
perils, must beheld to have been a happy 
one. He was at an early age inured to 
the hardships that the soldier and the 
pioneer must undergo, and he found 
pleasure in the excitements of the camp 
and of the border. 

He was never rich, nor did he wish to 
accumulate money, but when the time 
came he found that he could afford to 

(61) 



f>2 Adieu. 

give his children the best advantages in 
their education. Though he never held 
a political office, his career was a public 
one, and he was thoroughly respected. 

He lived long enough to see his chil- 
dren exhibit characters that promised to 
reflect credit upon him. He had six 
sons : Richard, who twice represented his 
district in the National Congress, was 
minister to the United States of Colum- 
bia, and who died, greatly regretted, at 
Carthagena, on his way to the Congress 
at Panama, as Commissioner; Larz An- 
derson, of Cincinnati, lately deceased, a 
scholar, and the conscientious steward 
of his large fortune ; Robert Anderson, 
of Fort Snmter; William Marshall An- 
derson, one of the first to cross the 
Rocky mountains, and who, when three 
score years of age, made a scientific jour- 
ney through Northern Mexico ; John 
Anderson, of Chillicothe, and Charles 



Adieu. 63 

Anderson, who made the speech before 
the secession meeting at San Antonio, in 
1861, in favor of sustaining the Union. 




■ ■■■■■ • . . •-- «' ..■VVr 1 ^ 






J*£. 





